Career and Education Opportunities for Curators in Moreno Valley, California

There are many career and education opportunities for curators in the Moreno Valley, California area. The national trend for curators sees this job pool growing by about 23.0% over the next eight years. Curators generally administer affairs of museum and conduct research programs.

Curators earn approximately $26 hourly or $55,300 annually on average in California. Nationally they average about $22 per hour or $47,220 per year. Incomes for curators are better than in the overall category of Libraries and Museums in California, and better than the overall Libraries and Museums category nationally. People working as curators can fill a number of jobs, such as: director of collections and archives, collections manager, and numismatist.

There are thirty-one schools of higher education in the Moreno Valley area, including one within twenty-five miles of Moreno Valley where you can get a degree to start your career as a curator. Given that the most common education level for curators is a Master's degree, it will take about six years to learn to be a curator if you already have a high school diploma, or just 2 years if you have a Bachelor's degree.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Curator

In general, curators administer affairs of museum and conduct research programs. They also direct instructional, research, and public service activities of institution.

Curators train and supervise curatorial, fiscal and clerical staff, as well as volunteers or interns. They also furnish data from the institution's holdings to other curators and to the public. Equally important, curators have to formulate and organize the acquisition and exhibition of collections and related materials, including the selection of exhibition themes and designs. They are often called upon to conduct or organize tours, workshops, and instructional sessions to acquaint individuals with an institution's facilities and materials. They are expected to negotiate and authorize purchase, sale or loan of collections. Finally, curators schedule events, and organize details including refreshment and the collection of any fees.

Every day, curators are expected to be able to see details at a very fine level of focus. They need to read and understand documents and reports. It is also important that they write clearly and communicate well.

It is important for curators to design and maintain an institution's registration and basic recordkeeping systems, using computer databases. They are often called upon to talk with the board of directors to formulate and interpret policies, to establish budget requirements, and to develop overall operations. They also attend meetings and civic events to promote use of institution's services, to seek financing, and to maintain community alliances. They are sometimes expected to write and review grant proposals and publicity materials. Somewhat less frequently, curators are also expected to inspect premises to gauge the need for repairs and to insure that climate and pest-control issues are addressed.

and study and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin and to gauge their current value. And finally, they sometimes have to study and test acquisitions to authenticate their origin and to gauge their current value.

Like many other jobs, curators must be thorough and dependable and be reliable.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Moreno Valley include:

Archivist. Appraise, edit, and direct safekeeping of permanent records and historically valuable documents. Participate in research activities based on archival materials.

Library Information Technian. Assist librarians by helping readers in the use of library catalogs, databases, and indexes to locate books and other materials; and by answering questions that require only brief consultation of standard reference. Compile records; sort and shelve books; remove or repair damaged books; register patrons; check materials in and out of the circulation process. Replace materials in shelving area (stacks) or files. Includes bookmobile drivers who operate bookmobiles or light trucks that pull trailers to specific locations on a predetermined schedule and assist with providing services in mobile libraries.

Museum Technician. Prepare specimens, such as fossils, skeletal parts, and textiles, for museum collection and exhibits. May restore documents or install, arrange, and exhibit materials.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Curator Training

University of California-Riverside - Riverside, CA

University of California-Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521. University of California-Riverside is a large university located in Riverside, California. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 18,405 students and an admission rate of 87%. University of California-Riverside has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree program in Art History, Criticism and Conservation which graduated two and nine students respectively in 2008.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Moreno Valley, California

Moreno Valley, California photo by Slowking_Man

Moreno Valley is situated in Riverside County, California. It has a population of over 190,871, which has grown by 34.1% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Moreno Valley, 121, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in Moreno Valley are priced at $225,500 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, one hundred thirty-two new homes were built in Moreno Valley, down from three hundred ninety-two the previous year.

The three most popular industries for women in Moreno Valley are health care, educational services, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is construction, public administration, and educational services. The average commute to work is about 35 minutes. More than 14.0% of Moreno Valley residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 4.6%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Moreno Valley is 17.3%, which is greater than California's average of 12.3%.

The percentage of Moreno Valley residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 43.0%, is less than both the national and state average. Trinity Baptist Church, Sunnymead Wesleyan Church and Sunnymead Baptist Temple are some of the churches located in Moreno Valley. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the LDS (Mormon) Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Moreno Valley is home to the Sunnymead Chamber of Commerce and the Lawless Ranch as well as Pedrorena Park and John F Kennedy Veterans Memorial Park. Shopping centers in the area include Moreno Valley Mall at Towngate Shopping Center, Moreno Valley Plaza Shopping Center and Moreno Valley Shopping Center. Visitors to Moreno Valley can choose from Best Western Image Suites and Best Western Image Inn & Suites for temporary stays in the area.